Psalm 36

I recently read a quote (and I will have to apologize because I don’t remember who said it) that went something like this: God gives the world everything it needs. He just doesn’t distribute it. That’s up to us.

What do you think? Do you agree? At the risk of being misunderstood (which I hope I will not be), I have to say that I don’t. For this would either mean that God is incapable of providing for the needs of His creatures or that He prefers to let us direct and control His generosity. I don’t believe either is true.

Was God incapable of feeding Elijah by the Brook Cherith?

Was God incapable of sending manna to the Israelites in the desert?

Was God incapable of supplying oil and flour to the Widow of Zarephath?

In none of these examples was God dependent upon human beings to distribute His bounty. And these are just practical examples. What about something more abstract? What about salvation? If God really doesn’t or can’t distribute everything the world needs without our help, how about spreading the Gospel? Will there be some who will be lost because they simply never heard about God from another human being before they died? Is the Holy Spirit incapable of reaching the hearts of people without our help? Is God’s mercy really dependent on us?

There are probably some people who believe that very thing. David might have been describing them in this chapter when he wrote, “In their own eyes they flatter themselves.” (vs 2)

Perhaps he wrote that because he believed God was not limited: “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.” (vs 5-8)

In that passage, there is no hint of God being limited by the choices we make. Why, then, would Jesus tell us that it is more blessed to give than to receive? Why all the admonitions to give to the poor and help those in need?

May I suggest that God wants us to help others for our benefit, not theirs. Oh, it’s true that others receive practical benefit from our generosity, but God doesn’t ask us to give to others because He is incapable of providing for their needs otherwise. He asks us to give to others because He is incapable of imparting the blessing of being a generous giver otherwise.

So, in our quest to become as generous as our heavenly Father, let us not come to view Him as impotent. God knows no limits. He is more than capable of providing for every need we (and others) have. And as we watch Him pour out His generous gifts, hopefully we will be inspired to open our hands and give as He does. Not because God is powerless without us, but because it is our privilege to imitate Him.